


Face to Face

by GallifreyGod



Series: Skin to Skin [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Domestic Bliss, F/M, Light Angst, Romance, Short & Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 22:43:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18061583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyGod/pseuds/GallifreyGod
Summary: Joyce and Hopper come face to face with what they nearly lost.5th and final part of the Skin to Skin series.If you haven't read that, none of this will make sense.





	Face to Face

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ THIS!!!
> 
> Hi. I just wanted to say that writing this series was some of the best moments of my life. Creating the first part of this series absolutely changed me as a writer because it was the best thing I had ever created. This whole thing has just been such a blast and I'm so sad that it's coming to an end. The truth is, I wish I could continue this forever, but all things must come to an end. It's bittersweet, really, because I feel like I found a home in this. I was able to make something that felt real and raw and incredibly emotional. The good, the bad, the ugly. I am so incredibly grateful for being able to write this series with all of you by my side. It's been wild, it's been so fun, and I am so excited to see what Stranger Things 3 will bring, especially in terms of fanfiction opportunities.
> 
> This whole series started from a prompt on tumblr I saw, and now it's such a big part of my heart. I just want to thank you all for coming along for the ride with this one. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did :')

Things were... _rough_ , after Hopper's accident. Somehow, time seemed to go a million miles a minute, and yet not move at all. Countless hours staring at the loudly ticking clock in his hospital room. Yet, when doctors were sure he was ready to be taken out of ICU, Joyce had been scared that it was too soon. 

He had survived, that was the important part. The fact that he was still alive and breathing was what gave Joyce enough strength to get through it. That being said, it was far from easy.

Within the week of the accident, it was all touch and go. Joyce had never been able to cope well when things were up in the air, but she did the best she could for what it was worth. Telling the kids what had happened was a battle of its own. Their horrified faces would forever be seared into her memory, filed under the same category as all of the other difficult thing's she had survived. 

Eventually, Hopper made it out of the woods... barely. His injuries from the crash were severe; a nearly shattered hip, several broken ribs, fractured skull, just to name the few that Joyce could remember. From the moment the Troopers showed up at their door, she knew it would be a long road. 

He was incredibly strong, that was one of the things that she adored about him. He was a survivor of all sorts of trauma and pain. Joyce didn't know a single soul who could make it ten feet in the shoes that he's walked a million miles in. She admired his courage, and seeing as he could survive, she knew she could too. 

Although they were strong, the recovery period was almost enough to knock them off of their feet. Somehow trying to balance four kids, jobs, and Hopper doing intense physical therapy, it added an immense amount of tension to their already stressed lives. It takes a village to make it through something that traumatic, and she felt as if she owed a tremendous amount of debt to the people who helped her family through it. Karen had taken care of Molly as much as she could. Claudia drove the younger kids to school when Joyce was at the hospital. Donald had even offered her a few weeks of paid leave while she was busy trying to juggle all aspects of their life. More than anything, Joyce was beyond grateful for her 'village' in this situation. 

For a while, she was convinced that things would never go back to normal. How could it possibly ever return to the uneventful domesticity that they were used to? Well, not _used_ to, but she valued those moments when they were present. Life wasn't back to normal yet, but every day they got a little bit closer. 

 

* * *

 

Joyce awoke out of her sleep in a cold sweat, ending another common nightmare. While trying to catch her breath and slow her heart, she realized there was a cold emptiness next to her in the bed. She couldn't help but to suddenly be filled to the brim with worry and fear. Squinting to adjust her eyes, she could see the moonlight reflecting off of the metal walker that Hopper was usually attached to. 

"Hop?" she called, growing even more worried when she got no response. Throwing herself out of bed, she flipped the lights on and looked around. Had he fallen in the night? Was he unconscious somewhere in the house? 

Through the silence, she could hear a faint babbling sound coming from her slightly ajar bedroom window. She instantly recognized it as Molly's cheerful voice. 

Her feet padded against the carpet as she headed for the backdoor of the kitchen. Within the midnight darkness, she could see Hopper lying on the ground of the backyard, pointing at the sky with their two-year-old nestled between his chest and his arm.

"Stars, Da-Da! Stars!" Molly cooed, a smile instantly coming across Joyce's face. She loved them, but she loved the connection between them even more. 

"Yup, that's the little dipper. See that one over there? That's the big dipper. Lots and lots of pretty stars." Hopper spoke to the little one as if she knew what he was talking about. 

"I was wondering where my husband and daughter went," Joyce spoke softly, laying herself down on the cold Earth next to them. 

"Stars, mama!" Molly giggled.

"I know, baby. Aren't they so pretty?" Joyce beamed, running her hand down the soft and thready brunette hair that covered her daughter's face. "Hop, you scared me to death. You didn't use your walker and it's the middle of the night."

"I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep and Molly was wide awake when I went in to check on her. I figured we'd come out and look at the sky. I didn't mean to scare you." he whispered, looking at her with sincerity.

Joyce snuggled up closer to him, laying her head on his chest. "It's okay. It's kinda nice." she grinned, taking her eyes off of the stars and looking at the ones in his eyes instead. "I've missed these moments."

"Me too," he admitted. It was no secret that after his accident, moments of domestic bliss were rare. Money was tight from hospital bills, immense amounts of time were spent at doctors and physical therapy, and everything was out of sorts. But this... this was what they missed the most. 

Joyce couldn't help but to feel suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. The man lying next to her, staring at the stars with their daughter, was the most amazing man she could've ever hoped for; and the love she felt for him was immeasurable.  "I love you, Jim... with all of my heart. In sickness and in health,"

He smiled that million dollar smile, love clouding in his eyes. She was everything to him, and she always would be. "'Til death do us part, babe." 

So there they lied, underneath the stars on the cold Hawkins' soil, soaking it all in as if it would be their last chance to ever do so. Enjoying it. Treasuring it. Savoring it. It was a moment of peace, one where time nearly stopped and didn't show signs of ever starting again. And if time did, in fact, stop at that moment, they wouldn't have cared. 

Everything was perfect, even when it wasn't. That was the beauty of it. 


End file.
